Thoughts about skating and the practice of everyday life

Tag Archives: figure skating

I’ve been paying a lot of attention this week to my core: more specifically, to my navel. I realized after a lesson on brackets that I wasn’t really twisting my core enough (like wringing a towel, they say). So after trying this, I realize that this movement is entirely lacking in most of the things I do. This includes swing rolls and three turns and loops as well as other moves. Once I tried actually turning my navel in the direction of travel, it was like magic.

I don’t know whether to laugh or cry. How have I failed to do this for so long?

It’s probably because this is a fairly subtle motion. Now, if it were a full twist of the spine, I might have picked up on how important this was. For instance, if I were a cat, it would be really important to know to twist so I could land on my feet.

Cats instinctively develop this sense, and it works beautifully even when they are being tortured in zero gravity.

I find watching that video pretty traumatic, mainly because I identify strongly with that floating cat now. I know that I’m supposed to rotate my core but I’m not necessarily sure how much or when.

And I’m sure I’ve had this lesson before. But who knows where or when?

Sometimes you think you’ve lived before
All that you live to day.
Things you do come back to you
As though they knew the way.

Oh, the tricks your mind can play!

Lesson:

slide chassés: make sure your pushing hip doesn’t fall behind, keep feet really parallel and even so you can just slide the foot forward without keeping weight on it.

back right to back outside left edge (back chassés): think about elongating and staying strong through left side on new edge so you have something to push to; don’t “crunch” side.

Well, in the past few weeks I have felt much better about skating. It’s not that I have added any new tricks to my repertoire, but I am finally feeling like my posture is better and my positions more secure.

I have been working really hard on keeping my core engaged and the front of my hips “flat.” This makes me do more of the work with my glutes. I am also trying to make sure my feet and ankles are fully engaged. And that my knees are bending enough so that they move in front of my skate, not just on top.

The trick is that I have to do this all the time. It’s like that old song about “always”: not for just an hour, not for just a day, not for just a year. It makes me tired just thinking about it.

Of course, when I’ve done it enough times (snort!) I won’t have to think about it. I’ll just do it and it will look like magic. And everyone will think, wow, how does she do that? It must be the leopard skin! (Okay, it does move attention away from the perfect alignment and deep knee/ankle bend.)

Most of the time I think I’m the luckiest person in the world to be able to devote time and energy to this. And sometimes I think, oh no, not again! Today I felt really, really tired–one of those days when I had to pat myself on the back for making it through an entire session.

Still, progress is happening!

Andy, Marc, Sonia, Jo, and Kari

Saw this great picture by Daveesha Montgomery in Midway Airport

My son wanted me to share this song through this blog. It happens to be a perfect reminder that I need to (1) use my glutes, (2) bend my ankles, and (3) engage my feet–here, there, and everywhere. I got this!

Lesson notes:

Left outside three turn: less twist through hips, more through upper body

Inside forward three: think about where your “tail” is pointed after the three (don’t immediately go to open-hipped position)

Back outside three: allow hips to rotate into more natural position on inside edge (don’t allow arms to rotate instead)

Back power pulls: no tipping into circle, work on knee bend and not staying up too long, don’t force a dramatic “rip”